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Committee weighs new jail fund versus existing infrastructure loan fund; Bank of North Dakota briefs members on capacity and limits
Summary
Lawmakers discussed House Bill 1213 (jail improvement revolving loan fund) and House Bill 1197 (proposed $50 million in grants) and heard from the Bank of North Dakota that counties can already borrow for jails from the state infrastructure revolving loan fund but that the fund currently has limited available cash.
Committee members spent an extended portion of the hearing evaluating proposals to fund jail construction and renovation, hearing from the Bank of North Dakota about existing borrowing options and limits.
Kiley Merkel, a business banker with the Bank of North Dakota who works with legislatively directed loan programs, told the committee that political subdivisions can already borrow from the state infrastructure revolving loan fund for essential buildings and infrastructure; a jail generally qualifies as an essential building. Century code imposes a $20 million cap in outstanding loans per qualified applicant, Merkel said, and the revolving fund offers a low interest rate (the infrastructure fund is administered at about a 2% rate; a bill…
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